20 Best Motivational Books to Take Charge of Your Life

Motivation. When you have it, anything seems achievable. When it is lacking, it can sometimes be tough to get out of bed.

Like anything, books can be motivational. In fact, books and movies may be two of the most motivational mediums around.

When you read a good book, you want to go out and conquer the world. The book motivates you to succeed, and if it is a good motivational book, it also hands you tools to help you succeed. That is what make a great motivational book.

And that is what this list is all about. It is a list of the best motivational books to help you take change of your life.

These books are all nonfiction. Fiction books may be motivational, but they often are short on details for achieving transformational life changes.

To make this list a book needed to have something important to say. The book needed to provide solid ideas about how to make the changes it proposed in your life, and above all the book needed to be motivational. It needed grab the reader by the wrist and pull them though the book, making them desire, more than anything, to take action and make changes in their lives.

That’s what it takes to be one of the top-flight motivational books.

So, without further ado, let’s dig-in the list of best motivational books.

20 BEST motivational books to take change of your life (2018 Edition)

This refreshing must read inspirational book provides the reader with a guide to creating a life that you love. Jen Sincero offers the reader 27 short chapters that are packed with captivating stories, humor, sound advice, and simple exercises to help people identify and get rid of their self-sabotaging thoughts and habits that prohibit people from achieving the success that they want. After reading this book, you will have a better understanding of why you act the way you do and how to accept the things that you cannot change.

Readers have found that Jen Sincero is a talented writer who offers an edgy style that can be motivating to a lot of people. While this book doesn't offer much advice that cannot be found in other self-help books, it is presented in a fun and matter-of-fact way that is meant to entertain the reader while inspiring them to improve their life.

Sincero does use some critical language to describe people who are struggling that may be offensive to some, using words such as "lame-o" and "wuss," which may hold a bit of a shock value at first, but some believe that this language and its offensiveness can get old quickly. However, this book offers a quick shot of motivation which can be very useful to people who are looking for an enlightening read that is written by someone who is comical and inspiring.

This book offers eight productivity concepts that help explain why some people and companies are able to accomplish so much more than others. Drawing from information on neuroscience and behavioral psychology, along with the experiences of successful CEOs, generals, pilots, FBI agents, and Broadway songwriters, this well-researched book reveals how productive people and companies view the world in profoundly different ways than those who find less success.

For example, a group of Google's data scientists conducts a four-year study on how the most effective teams function and find that a group's interactions are more important than the members of the group. Additionally, the experts who created the movie Frozen almost gave up after encountering some challenges before they decided to shake up their team in a way that initiated a creative breakthrough, leading to one of the highest-grossing movies to date.

This book explains that what these success stories have in common is that the people know that their productivity relies on making specific choices. The things that separate busy people from productive people are the ways decisions are made, the ambitions that are embraced, and the seemingly easy goals that are ignored. Leaders are able to establish cultures to prompt innovation and interact with data to create success.

This inspirational book uses rich storytelling to explain how people can improve their everyday lives. This innovative exploration of productivity can help anyone learn how to succeed without having to endure stress, struggle, or sacrifice.

In this book, the author explores eight ideas that are the most important to improving one's productivity, including motivation, teams, focus, goal setting, managing other people, effective decision making, innovation, and absorbing data. Readers have stated that this book is written in a lively and eloquent way. With narratives from some of the best journalists and leaders, the author is able to anchor the reader in many real-world situations to help drive home some key points. Many valuable lessons are shared with the reader along with dos and don’ts of living a productive life and being successful in business, especially when stressful situations arise.

The author of this book, psychologist Angela Duckworth, shows her readers that the secret to success is something she refers to as "grit." She addresses all types of people from parents to students to business people to highlight the importance of the blend of passion and persistence. Duckworth refers to her own experiences beginning early on in her life that made her come to this conclusion.

In "Grit", the author tells the real-life stories of cadets who are struggling through their initial experiences at West Point, teachers trying to work with students in inner-city schools, and insights from high achievers such as JP Morgan's CEO, Jamie Dimon and Seattle Seahawks' Coach, Pete Carroll.

Some of the most valuable insights that the reader should take away from this book include why one's efforts are so important regarding a long-term goal, how passion and perseverance can be learned, and how one can trigger a lifelong interest for their craft.

Readers have found this book to be personal and insightful because it addresses what goes through one's head during a failure, and how those thoughts can make a big difference in one's future. Readers say that this is a great book to read for one's own success, especially if you can accept the idea that success is all about hard work.

I have been a fan of James’ books and hisexcellent podcast since he invited my as a guest many years ago when I first started writing books online. James is a serial entrepreneur, having started as many as 20 different companies.

He also happens to be brilliant and really nice guy. Rare combinations: smart, entrepreneurial, kind, and with a gift for gab; knowing how to put some complex thinking into digestible bits the rest of us can easily understand.

I love many of his books, but Choose Yourself remains my favorite, and I think is one of the single best motivational books around. Because that is the entire point of the book. When it comes to “what” you should invest in to achieve success, his point is to “choose yourself”.

Showcasing real life interviews and case studies, James shows us how the current world market is ripe for entrepreneurial self starters to succeed if they invest their energy in themselves.

A wonderful book sure to motivate you to make the most of your own talents.

This book, written by ZICO Coconut Water founder Mark Rampolla, aims to teach the reader that when you reach higher, you will be able to build a successful business, make a great profit, and possibly even leave a lasting mark on the world.

Drawing from his own experience of not being inspired enough in his job and dreaming about more, Rampolla talks about his journey to selling coconut water in the United States. His ambitious goal created a whole new industry that brought America a healthy beverage alternative while also helping producers of the product in developing worlds profit from this resource.

This book was written for other people who want to succeed in light of their values. It may be the right book for you if you believe that it is your job to strive to build businesses that are driven by passion and purpose, along with a strong sense of integrity. This is a great book for a new generation of entrepreneurs to read who want to change the old model of business and exceed in innovative ways.

The lessons in this book can benefit anyone. Not only is the book well written, but it is also a page-turner when talking about the battle that the author had to fight with the American beverage business and his courage to stand up for his beliefs. Readers respect that the author believes that if people remain true to their core values, they have the ability to be successful and even promote social change.

This is a follow-up book to Clifton's First, Break All the Rules. The author uses his theories from his first book to help the reader discover what their specific strengths and talents are in life.

This book aims to debunk what the author believes to be a myth that many of us were told as children, which is that anyone can be anything they want to be. Some readers may find this opinion to be unsettling when beginning this book, however, the author presents the idea in a very freeing way. He argues that instead of following callings that are likely to be dead ends, it is better to pursue the things that you are naturally wired to do. This will result in a happier and more successful life.

This idea can even apply to parenting. If your child comes home with several A's and B's, but also has an F, do you spend your energy focusing on the bad grade or praising your child for the good grades? Rather than trying to fix weaknesses that your child has no desire in, the author argues that it is better to encourage them in the subjects that they are strong. Focus on the things that your children show interest in and have a talent for and allow those strengths to grow.

This is a great book to change one's way of thinking. Regardless of one's personality, readers have found that this book and test can dramatically change the way you view the world and approach life. One slight weakness in this book is that it does not go deeper into his theory rather he just scratches the surface, however, the author does a very effective job showing how he developed this process through years of study.

This book was written in 1937 and has become a classic. The text and formatting of the original book have been preserved as best as possible to be kept exactly the same as it was in the original release. This book was originally published during the Great Depression and it is about the art of convincing yourself to become wealthy. It addresses the important steps to take and the equally important steps to avoid in this process.

While some people have not found this book to be very useful, others refute that opinion by saying that one has to implement the strategies in the book in order to upgrade their lives.

There are a lot of captivating points and ideas in this book. For example, the author argues that 99% of people do not have a goal in their life and are therefore trapped in jobs that make them unhappy. Additionally, he proposes the idea that sex transmutation is an effective strategy to achieve success. This is where one transfers the energy of their libido into other purposes that are aimed at acquiring wealth.

The author also makes a solid point that most people do not achieve full success until later in life or at least after the age of 40. A few examples the author points out are Thomas Edison and Andrew Carnegie, who were both over the age of 40 when they acquired their fortunes.

Readers have found the author's roundtable ideas to be very intriguing and applicable to people of any background. If life is a game, these are the rules.

This book focuses on the idea that people who are able to change the world are the ones who truly believe they are able to. For example, Steve Jobs was able to captivate audiences when beginning his movement that led to Apple Inc. This is because he was telling his audience about his vision for the future and inviting them to join him in his ideas.

Leaders have great potential to anticipate the future with their inventions and inspire others to support their dreams. In this book, the authors provide the reader with the powerful communication tools that are needed for great leadership.

They are able to lay out a plan to help the reader lead people through all of the stages of transformation through the use of speeches, symbols, stories, and ceremonies.

This guidebook shows that while envisioning the future may be one thing, getting other people to follow your lead is another. By using persuasive communication, anyone can turn an idea into a movement. Due to the valuable insights and the immediate impact that this book provides, many readers choose to read it multiple times to continue to motivate themselves to work alongside their followers rather than try to embark on their vision alone.

Jocko Willink experienced the most violent battlefield in Iraq while serving on the SEAL team before writing this book, granting him great authority to write a book on leadership and success. While in Iraq, he helped U.S. forces secure Ramadi, and wrote this firsthand account of victory, heroism, and loss in SEAL Team Three’s Task Unit Bruiser.

During his experience, he learned that leadership is the most important element of success or failure. Once he returned to the United States, he began a SEAL leadership training program before expanding his leadership training to successful companies and clients.

In this book, he details the mindset and principles that allow SEAL units to accomplish their combat missions and shows how to apply this methodology to any team or organization. Each chapter of this book concentrates on a distinct topic such as Decentralized Command and Leading Up the Chain. The author explains what each topic is, their relevance, and how to put them to use in a leadership environment.

This is a compelling read that includes direct instructions and methods of application. It is great for business management and it tasks existing leaders to fulfill their goal of leading and winning. One great thing about this book is that it is structured in a basic and clear way. The book focuses on just one main point in each chapter through a story and then calls attention to the main principle of that story and how it can be applied.

Prior to writing this book, Tim Ferriss spent two years interviewing over 200 top-notch performers, including celebrities, athletes, legendary Special Operations commanders, and black-market biochemists. During these in-depth two to three hour interviews, Ferriss was able to learn the distilled tools, tactics, and tricks to getting ahead that readers are unable to find anywhere else.

Ferriss offers his advice to readers with his constant focus on actionable details. He asks his interviewees specific questions such as what their morning routine looks like and how they fit physical exercise into their schedules. He also inquires about books that have inspired these experts and even things they consider to be a waste of time.

Everything that is written in this book has been explored and applied to the author's own life, so he considers them to be tried and true pieces of advice. He prides his work on the fact that it has made him millions of dollars and saved him from years of wasted efforts.

In this exciting book, Tim does a great job of making the reader feel as if he is talking directly to them. In this well-formatted and easy-to-follow book, the reader is offered advice that is commonly revisited throughout the years. Some have referred to this book as being a "manual to life" because it leads to a lot of reflection and positive changes in the people who read it.

This book is written by the well-known Shark Tank star and Fubu Founder, Daymond John. He wrote this book to explain to readers why starting a business on a tight budget can actually be a great advantage for an entrepreneur.

The author has been using the practices described in this book since he was a young entrepreneur selling home-sewn shirts in his neighborhood. On an extremely tight budget, Daymond had to create his own strategies to sell his products. His creativity led to a campaign that later became the well-known $6 billion dollar industry, FUBU. Daymond's initial hope and drive led to a level of success that no one expected.

In this book, the author shows how starting out broke can actually be an advantage because it will force you to think outside of the box. It teaches you to efficiently use your resources and forces you to authentically connect with customers and create imaginative marketing strategies.

Along with detailing his own experiences, the author also tells the stories of fellow successful entrepreneurs such as Steve Aoki, a deejay who grew a $100 business into a global sensation, and Gigi Butler, who created a cupcake empire with just debt and a dream.

Readers have found this to be a well-written business book that is more relatable and captivating than your average business book. The author is able to teach entrepreneurs at every level how to never give up on their dreams and to seek out an opportunity in every situation, whether it is positive or negative. After reading this book, many people claim to have a new-found respect for the drive, determination, positive mentality, and passion that it takes to succeed in business.

Tony Robbins is certainly a power-house in the “self help” field. He has courses, books, videos and more in his arsenal, and of all these books and courses, Awaken the Giant Within has always been one of the most enduringly popular books in the entire self-help field of all time.

Sometimes, I don’t like Robbins stuff, however. It seems to me he takes others ideas, and just adds hype and motivation. Much of his stuff is decent, but others do it with more depth.

What he has, undeniably, is the skill to elicit an incredible amount of motivation from his readers. Since this category is motivational books Tony Robbins needs to be in running for the best ever!

Robbin’s point in Awaken The Gian​​​​t Within is to take charge of your life in all the important ways: emotional, physical, mental and financial. All of these important parts dovetail together and work with each other for you to achieve greater success. Only when you are at the peak of performance in all categories can you truly be your best self.

While people often spend their days working hard at their jobs, they are often dreaming of bigger success but feel like they are fighting an uphill battle. Jobs are commonly unfulfilling and people are disconnected from their company's mission. This book talks about breaking free from menial work and achieving more success on one's own terms by hustling.

The author argues that this can be done by making small changes and placing small bets on hobbies that will help you move forward from who you are today to someone who you are destined to become.

Three top entrepreneurs and consultants collaborate in this book to teach the reader how to view work and life through a fresh lens that revolves around uncovering projects that you love to do and finding people and opportunities to support your dream and talents.

This book offers the reader a three-part framework that includes heart, head, and habits. It teaches the reader how to redefine "hustling" as the best path to success by owning your own your dreams, creating your own luck, developing your potential, and staying true to yourself.

Readers enjoy this book because it goes beyond a normal inspirational career guide and aims to change the way people work and live to teach people how to allow themselves to succeed in our ambivalent world. This book is written to appeal to entrepreneurs with a "go get 'em" attitude. While many enjoy the author's choice of language, others prefer a more analytical approach to creating one's own success.

This motivational book is written very sincerely any many will gain from Neil's particular approach to accomplishing their goals. If you have read previous books written by this author and have enjoyed the style, this book will certainly not disappoint.

This international bestseller has helped people worldwide achieve fulfillment in their lives through a message of faith and inspiration. This book was written to help people achieve happiness and satisfaction in their lives while also believing that their lives are worthwhile. The author talks about the power of faith in one's life and offers the reader practical techniques to energize one's life and motivate people to carry out their hopes and ambitions.

After reading this book, the reader should be able to believe in themselves, feel determined, develop power, improve relationships, take control over their lives, and decrease the amount of time they spend worrying about things. This small book offers a lot of inspiration without adding a lot of fluff. It is very to-the-point and cleanly written. This is a great book to keep around and reference for a boost of motivation.

I have a love –hate relationship with Tim Ferris. Okay, maybe the scale it tilted more toward “love” and not really equal, but as much as I love his writing, I sometimes have reservations.

First of all, I DO read everything he writes, and I like it all. 4 Hour Workweek specifically, really put a “title” on what I was already doing. It was inspirational, motivational, and transformational for anyone trying to make a living online.

My slight problem comes from the fact that the book seems to promise a path to how to achieve a truly passive career online, when in reality, any such book would be impossible. There are too many things that change and too many variables to get everything you need to learn into a single book.

If you take it for what it is however, a motivational book to INSPIRE you to go out and learn what you need to know, then it is unsurpassed.

As a purely motivational book 4 Hour Workweek can transform your life and lifestyle.

This classic inspirational book aims to teach the reader how to ignore the little things in life that might drive you crazy. The author uses thoughtful and insightful language to teach the reader how to calm down during a hurried and chaotic life.

The reader can learn how to put things into perspective by implementing small changes such as choosing one's battles and learning to accept imperfection. The reader will also learn about mindfulness, living in the moment, giving other people the spotlight, trusting intuitions, and living every day to its fullest.

Readers have found that this book offers gentle and supportive suggestions to help people make their lives peaceful and caring while also living with very little stress. This straightforward book is essentially an owner's manual of managing one's level of stress, and if the directions are followed, the reader is likely to be a happier and more harmonious person. Readers have noted that the strategies in this book take discipline, but they are still fun to do. Most think that once you start these strategies, they are often hard to stop.

This new book is a self-help guide that is designed well around our current generation. Written by a popular blogger, this book avoids any fluff content that urges people to be "positive" and instead motivates the reader to become a become a better happier person.

Most are used to hearing that the power of positive thinking will lead to a happy life. This book, however, turns the tables to say that there are a lot of negative things that we have to deal with in life, but you have to learn how to effectively live with that. The author does not sugarcoat his message in this tell-it-like-it-is book. He offers a dose of raw and honest truth that is hard to come by these days. Readers have found this to be refreshing from the typical self-help book.

Manson uses jokes along with academic research to makes his argument that improving our lives takes more than just trying to see the bright side, people also need to form a thick skin. Life is not fair and everybody does not always win, and the author advises the reader to get to know their limitations and accept them. If people are able to recognize their fears and faults, they can confront uncomfortable truths and begin to find the courage and forgiveness that is often sought out.

The author makes it clear that he believes people need to pick their battles in life. Sure, people want to have a lot of money, but having a passion for your life and career is more important because real wealth lies in one's experience. Readers enjoy the entertaining stories in this book along with the profane and ruthless humor. The author's witty use of profanity and satirical comedy is also full of philosophical wisdom. A lot of Manson's inspiration comes from Nihilists and Buddhists, but he also includes philosophies that bring a more modern and agreeable perspective. This book has empowered many to gain control over their actions and reactions.

This inspirational book provides the reader with useful methods to use to get the most out of a career, marriage and family life, and community. The author argues that people do not have to live in a world full of academics or have natural talent in order to be successful. However, people do need to learn certain habits that will allow them to be successful in anything they do.

Readers have found this to be an inspiring book that teaches the reader how to live beyond their typical mundane routine. It motivates people to go outside of their comfort zone and experience new things in order to achieve the success that they have been unable to do so far in life.

In this motivational book, the reader is reminded of the support they have probably had through their life. Parents, teachers, coaches, and friends have likely pushed the reader to be stronger than their excuses and better than your fears. But, what if the secret to success and confidence goes beyond knowing how to push yourself and accepting the support from your peers?

The author uses the science of habits, stories, and shocking historical facts to explain to the reader what the power of a “push moment” is. The reader is then provided with a quick and easy tool that can be used to achieve a greater sense of self.

According to the author, it takes just five seconds to become confident, stop procrastinating, overcome fear, and be happier. While everyone has the ability to hold themselves back, it is also possible to reverse that and move forward with confidence. The 5 Second Rule has helped people stay on tasks, get motivated in the morning, and refocus during times of distraction. It has helped people find happiness and hope in lives where those things were otherwise lost.

Okay, this last book is a bit of a cheat. This is a Mindfulness Journal put together by myself and Barrie, my sometimes writing partner.

We have not written the most motivational book for you here. It is not even really a “book”. But if you use this book YOU WILL likely create your own motivational resource that just can’t be beaten.

This Mindfulness Journal is not a “traditional” book. It is a journal filled with prompts for YOU to fill out.

When it comes to motivation and encouragement, who can really beat your own self talk, after all.

TMJ gives you a forum and prompts to share your own thoughts and ideas and may, in the long run, be far more motivational than most books you will find.

A Smarter You in 15 Minutes?

If you enjoy reading nonfiction books, then I encourage you to check out the Blinkist app.

Blinkist is an interesting concept...

Blinkist summarized over 2,000 of the bestselling books and put them into condensed 7 to 15 minute reads (or “blinks”). The idea here is to give you the key insights and important lessons -- without wasting your time on pointless information.

Blinkist book summaries are perfect for anyone who wants to maximize those random moments when you have to kill time. Like when you want to kill time before an appointment or you’re standing on a long line at Starbucks.

You can use Blinkist to complete a book daily, learn the valuable lessons, and avoid the fluff that often pad longer books.

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